This beef and barley soup is cozy, comforting, and hearty. Perfect to warm you up on those chillier nights!
Jump to RecipeIt’s October and therefore officially cold weather season here in Minnesota. That means I’m back to making soup on the regular! And it’s been a whopping 2 years since I shared a soup recipe with barley (check out my Turkey Barley Soup), so it’s far overdue in my book. Let’s get to it!
For this recipe, we’re keeping things pretty classic. Onion, carrots, and celery, the holy trinity of mirepoix. Oh, and garlic because I’m pretty sure I’m incapable of cooking without garlic like 95% of the time. :P
I also like to measure out the seasonings I’ll need in advance. That way I don’t have to worry about scrambling to measure things out later.
Then it’s cooking time! Heat one tablespoon of vegetable oil in a stock pot over medium heat. Add the ground beef and saute until brown and cooked through, or about 2-3 minutes.
Once the beef is cooked through, add the garlic and saute until fragrant, or about 30 seconds. Does anything smell better than garlic while you’re cooking? So good. Then, add the onion, celery, and carrots and saute until slightly softened, or about 5-7 minutes.
Then, add the barley, beef broth, bay leaf, and seasonings and bring everything up to a boil. Cover your stock pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until barley is tender, or about 30 minutes. I used pearled barley when developing this recipe, which takes about 30 minutes to cook. Depending on where you shop, you can find barley that takes less or more time to cook, so double-check your package to make sure.
Don’t forget to take your bay leaf out before serving, and enjoy! I’m feeling so cozy just looking at that soup. Yum!
If you try this recipe, please be sure to leave me your thoughts and a rating in the comments below. Don’t forget to tag me @HookomOnHealth and use the #HookomOnHealth so that I can see your creations online!
Looking for some more cozy soup inspiration?
Chickpea Noodle Soup – Vegetarian and Plant-based
Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Crockpot Lentil, Vegetable, and Black Bean Stew – Vegan
Please note there are Amazon affiliate links in this post. While the cost to you is the same, I do earn a small commission on any sales made through the links in this post. I would never recommend anything that I don’t believe in–thank you for your support!
Beef and Barley Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 4 large carrots peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 stalks celery chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 cup pearled barley
- 8 cups beef broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in stock pot over medium heat. Add ground beef and brown until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes.
- To browned beef, add garlic and saute until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
- Add onion, carrots, and celery and saute until slightly softened (about 5-7 minutes).
- Add barley, beef broth, bay leaf, dried parsley, thyme, salt, and ground black pepper, and bring to a boil.
- Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until barley is softened (about 30 minutes).
- Remove bay leaf, portion into individual bowls and serve!
Notes
- Store any leftovers in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.
- Serve with a piece of crusty bread, cheese and crackers, or your favorite soup accompaniment.
- Experiment by adding some zucchini, kale, or your favorite veggie.
- Sub out the barley with your favorite whole grain like farro, bulgur, or brown rice to change things up!